Hot Tips: Player's Paradise

In New York, get your kids to go where you want—the opera, art museums—by trading them a visit to the tech mecca Nintendo World(10 Rockefeller Plaza; 646/459-0800; www.nintendoworldstore.com). At the company's ultramodern new flagship store, gamers test the latest products for free. Have a seat in the surround-sound rumble chairs and take a shot at GameCube titles like the bongo drum– controlled Donkey Konga. Gather around the retro circular coffee table to send hand-drawn messages wirelessly. Or just grab a stool at the Game Boy bar and order up thrills from an ever-changing game menu. —HILLARY GERONEMUS

Nintendo World

Gamers consider a trip to this 10,000 square-foot retail store overlooking Rockefeller Center a kind of pilgrimage to a high-tech mecca. On the first floor, there’s a “Gameboy bar” and a “DS circle,” where you can play the latest games, as well as Pokemon merchandise. Exiting the stairway on the second floor, you'll find an exhibit chronicling Nintendo’s history. Also upstairs, you can play an array of Wii games or purchase products from plush toys to backpacks to sheets emblazoned with Nintendo characters. You may have trouble getting the kids to leave.